No stopping us-The best Canadian road trip

Drive halfway across Canada they said. In a rebuilt car from 1966 they said. It’ll be fun they said…. it’ll be the best Canadian road trip..

Ok… it was tons of fun and yes, my boyfriend Chris and I went on a road trip from Portage la Prairie in Manitoba to Annacis Island in Vancouver. And yes we drove the whole way in a 1966 Ford Fairlane rebuilt by Chris.

A 2200 km trip in a car that was driven maybe 4 times in short go’s didn’t give me the greatest confidence but we made it… just… but I’ll get to that soon.

Also, before I start, I called her Black Betty, the car that is.

1966 Ford Fairlane– Black Betty

And did I mention besides our love for road trips, the real reason for this trip was so this car could be shipped to our other home in NZ… yea…

So early Saturday morning, Black Betty, Chris and I got started and headed west for our first Canadian road trip. First stop was to see my best friend in a little one horse town called Kincaid in Saskatchewan. We stopped over for the night for a few drinks and ‘most importantly’ to let Betty get some beauty rest. 7 hours of driving was a stretch for Betty, didn’t want to push it the first day.

The Canadian desert aka Saskatchewan

The next day we headed off, firstly in search of a fuel station because Kincaid was so small it didn’t own one then headed for our next stop in Calgary passing through such towns as Swift Current and Medicine Hat (Canadian cities names are still not as weird as New Zealand).

My best friend, Marci and I!

We were very eager to get to Calgary and continue on. If you’ve ever heard rumors of; Saskatchewan is so boring, I wish we could just bypass that province all together, it’s so brown… well, they’re all very very true. I was surprised as the rolling hills but driving through when its 25 degrees out and sunny in a ’66 car with no AC and nothing to look at or stop at, we literally thought we were driving through the desert and were nothing but full speed ahead. Sorry SK but its truth.

A quick stay in Calgary and we were off to see the mountains!

Note: Canadian must do: GO TO BANFF! SEE THE ROCKIES.

Thinking of it now, it puts a smile on my face. I’ve said it countless times but I just love being surprised at how beautiful my home country is. The last time I was in Banff, I was 4. I am now 27 and after being in NZ I thought oh yea home is so boring…. it’s not. The Rocky Mountains are a sight to see.

The mountains are calling, and you must go.

Rocky Mountains, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

We took some time to walk through the town, check our Bow falls, hike up Mount Sulphur, take a Gondola ride (mostly because the hike up was so tough we couldn’t walk back down) see the beautiful Lake Louise and a gem of a place, Lake Moraine.   A quick go through but still amazing.  Check out more about the beautiful lakes here

Town of Banff, Alberta, Canada

Town of Banff, Alberta

Bow Falls, Alberta, Canada

Bow Falls, Alberta, Canada

Let me make a mental note that as of yet Betty was boss babe and cruised like nothing with the wind in her hair. And in that I mean we had absolutely no car problems.. and we just drove through the mountains..

Banff Gondola

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Since we were on a deadline to get Betty to her destination on time for shipping we were on the road again and headed for Golden, B.C to stay the night. Less than 2 hours west of Banff, a lot less busy and less expensive.

We continued on, again.. making our way through Revelstoke, stopping at a heritage ghost town called Three Valley Gap, mainly because I saw a sign about vintage cars, so we had to stop. We made our way through Sicamous, Salmon arm, Kamloops and stopping at Merritt for the night where we ate the best plate of nachos at a cool old hotel and checked out Canada’s country music star walk of fame. Kind of like Hollywood walk of fame.. but in a little town, in Canada.. for country music…

Three Valley Gap, Highway 1, BC

Three Valley Gap ghost town

Coldwater Hotel, Merrit,BC

Canada’s country music walk of fame– The Dixie Chicks!

Anyways, we decided to take highway 5 instead of the inland scenic route heading for Hope B.C not only because we wanted to see where one of Chris’ fav shows, Highway through hell was based out of but because I, on the other hand, wanted to see the Othello tunnels, the old train tunnels that follow the Coquihalla River.

Othello tunnels, Hope, BC

I’m glad you haven’t stopped reading because this, this is where the trip gets real fun! The road to get to the tunnels was a bit winding and up and down but nothing compared to gradients we were on on the highway.

I remember saying to Chris “runway lane, what do they mean?”

He says, “Oh well with these steep roads, big trucks sometimes lose breaks, they can’t stop and need those lanes are to help them stop”

To which I reply “Oh gosh, wow I can’t even imagine going down a hill and not being able to stop”

Well, there we were driving down a hill going back to the town of Hope, Chris goes SHIT, SHIT , SHIT, SHIT, I go oh my gosh WHAT WHAT WHAT (looking around for some wildlife that I thought we were about to see or possibly hit) and there he is foot on the brakes and we weren’t stopping.

With his foot right to the floor we finally came to a stop. Chris pops the hood and already he knows what’s wrong. Poor Betty’s master cylinder gave out and she only could stop with her rear.

Less than 2 hours from our destination and Bettys phoning it in.

We drove very carefully into town. Well by we, I mean Chris drove very carefully into town and spent a good few hours calling everywhere we could to find a replacement part fully prepared to repair brakes on the side of the road but no such luck.

So the last number I called was Davidson Towing from Chris’s fav show, Highway through hell, talked to the man himself, Jamie and he gave us great news of that would be $450 for a 2 hour haul to the port where we need to drop the car.

Not wanting to shell our another $450. Chris called his dad in New Zealand (who is in industry of fixing cars). The conversation goes as follows

“Hey dad…so um need some advice.. we have no breaks. Well we have rear breaks.”

“Hmm, shit. And how far you need to go?”

“About 150 km”

“Are you out of the mountains?”

“Yea pretty much”

“And you have you SOME breaks”

“Yea, pretty much”

“Awww yeaaa… ahhh keep going, throw it in neutral when you can, you know, be careful, she’ll be right”

And there we went. Back on the #1 highway, navigating through the town of Abbortsford for a wee stop to yet again give old Betty another break so she didn’t give up all together, holding our breath on every small hill we had to go over and finally making it to the port to ship her off.

If that is not trust in your relationship, I don’t know what is.

We had a few extra days before flying home so we spent some time wandering around Vancouver, checking out the suspension bridge and tree walk and mostly learning how to be city people and take public transport.

Capillano Park, North Vancouver BC

Chris fulfilled his dream of driving his car across Canada (almost), I got my fix of adventure and we both arrived safe and sound with a good story to tell!

Have you ever been on a trip where something has gone wrong, major or minor? Or maybe you’ve gone on an adventure and come out with just a really good story to tell? Spill!

Dont forget to check out more stories about Alberta’s beautiful lakes and Hope’s amazing Othello tunnels

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